Yahoo Lifestyle Janet Evanovich Says 'Staying Fresh' 31 Books Into Her Stephanie Plum Series Is Not the Hard Part (Exclusive)
The bestselling author notes that she "never intended to have 30-some books" in the Plum universe
Daniel Turbert
Janet Evanovich and Now or Never book coverJanet Evanovich is keeping it fresh!
The #1 New York Times Bestselling author may be more than two dozen books into her hit Stephanie Plum series, with No. 31, Now or Never, set to hit the shelves on November 19, but she tells PEOPLE that generating new ideas and storylines comes naturally to her.
"One of the ways I keep it fresh is by having little excursions in each book of the series," she says, in an exclusive interview with PEOPLE ahead of her latest. "I go into another person's head. I work with another woman and then I come back to Stephanie Plum and I am happy to be there."
The series started in 1994 with the publication of her mystery novel One for the Money, which introduces Stephanie as she gets laid off from her job as a lingerie salesperson and picks up an unlikely job as a bounty hunter. The book was later turned into a 2012 feature film, starring Katherine Heigl as the infamous protagonist.
Karen Warren/Houston Chronicle via Getty Images
Janet Evanovich signs books in 2003As the book series continues, Evanovich says her audience keeps her going.
"I think the readers help because they are still behind the books. They are still enjoying it. I feel very attached to my readers. I am not writing for myself," she says. "It is just the world's best job."
"Knowing I have readers out there who are waiting for it — who are enjoying it — that keeps the entire thing fresh for me,” the author explains. "I have a lot of ideas. It is not staying fresh that is hard. It is not coming up with ideas that is hard. It is getting the words. It is putting it on paper. It is making a story out of all of that jumble of ideas that you have in your head. That is the hard part."
In retrospect, Evanovich notes that she "never intended to have 30-some books" in the series.
Since the release of the second Plum book in 1996, Two for the Dough, the acclaimed writer has published at least one new installment every year. As for the upcoming book, she teases that Stephanie finally "makes up her mind – it's now or never."
"She makes a decision at the end of the book. I'm not gonna do any spoilers. But there is a very large decision at the end of the book between the two men in her life,” Evanovich teases, in reference to the love triangle between Stephanie, vice cop Joe Morelli and fellow bounty hunter Ranger.
Now or Never sees Stephanie with "two fiancés and no idea what to do about it. But the way things are going, she might not live long enough to marry anyone," reads to the official synopsis. "While Stephanie stalls for time, she buries herself in her work as a bounty hunter, tracking down an unusually varied assortment of fugitives from justice."
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The synopsis teases, "With timely assists from her stalwart supporters Lula, Connie and Grandma Mazur, Stephanie uses every trick in the book to reel in these men. But only she can decide what to do about the two men she actually loves. She can’t hold Ranger and Morelli at bay for long, and she’s keeping a secret from them that is the biggest bombshell of all. Now or never, she’s got to make the decision of a lifetime."
Now or Never comes out November 19 and is available for preorder now, wherever books are sold.
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